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Rock your next pool party with outdoor speakers from Definitive Technology. The AW5500 features the same high-quality speaker components as their indoor models, but is ready to stand up to the hardships of outdoor living. Install a pair (note: speakers are sold individually) near the pool, on your deck, or even in a sauna — their all-weather PolyStone enclosures are fully sealed. And the included brackets let you rotate the speaker up to 360° for maximum flexibility.

Crystal-clear highs, distinct mids, and deep bass
Definitive pairs a 1" tweeter with a 5-1/4" woofer for clear, accurate reproduction of voices and instruments. A low-bass radiator reinforces the output of the 5-1/4" driver to deliver bass equivalent to that of an 8" woofer. Some outdoor speakers are anemic at the low end — not these.

Did you know?
Your new speakers will probably sound better after several weeks of use than they do right out of the box. That's because the material surrounding the woofers will loosen up, allowing the drivers to move more fully. Definitive Technology estimates a break-in period of 24 to 48 hours of playback before the speakers will deliver optimum sound quality. For more information and helpful tips, check out this article from Definitive's website about conditioning your speakers.

Outdoor speakers let you move the party outside

Outdoor speakers are built tough -- they laugh at wind, rain and weather. Tuck a pair under your eaves and they'll pump out the tunes to keep everybody smiling and swaying at your next cookout or pool party. We also have some "rock" speakers that blend seamlessly into your landscaped lawn or garden.

Product Research

Overview: The Definitive Technology AW series all-weather outdoor
speaker allows you to enjoy your music outdoors in domestic or commercial
applications. The AW series all-weather outdoor speaker utilizes specially
developed materials and components to achieve a high level of durability,
dependability, and sound quality.

Driver Technology

Pressure Coupled Radiator Design: The AW series outdoor
speaker provides clear, high-definition sound by pressure-coupling a BDSS
technology driver to a racetrack-shaped mid/bass radiator cleverly placed on the
opposite side of the enclosure. This technique offers a
total bass radiating area greater than an 8-inch woofer to belt out powerful
bass that fills outdoor areas.

Break-In Period: The AW series outdoor loudspeakers will
sound good right out of the box; however, an extended break-in period of 20-40
hours or more of playing is required to reach full performance capability. The
break-in period allows the suspensions to work in and results in full bass, a
more open midrange, and smoother high frequency reproduction.

Enclosure Design

Polystone Non-Resonant All-Weather Enclosure: The Definitive
Technology AW5500 features a fully sealed (air and water tight) design, aluminum grilles, and rugged
PolyStone enclosure, which allow it to be fully exposed to the elements and
still reliably deliver their indoor speaker sound quality for years of outdoor
listening enjoyment.

Note: The AW series speakers utilize special components and
material for outdoor use. However, you will achieve the longest life of the
speaker by positioning it to minimize direct exposure to the elements as
much as possible.

Available Colors: The Definitive Technology AW5500 comes in either a
Black or White (paintable) finish.

Connections

Binding Posts: The AW5500 is equipped with a pair of
gold-plated, 5-way binding posts to attach your receiver's speaker wire.

Mounting Options

Mounting Bracket: The AW5500 outdoor speaker features an integrated
galvanized steel mounting bracket and unique enclosure shape which allow a full
360-degrees of rotation for maximum placement flexibility. The AW outdoor
speaker, using the integrated mounting bracket, can be oriented horizontally or
vertically. The mounting bracket allows you to mount the speaker to an outdoor
wall or under the eve of your home. The integrated mounting bracket can also be
used as horizontal stand, if you want to simply place the speaker on a table or
shelf. The mounting bracket is also removable, if you want to place the outdoor
speaker in a vertical position on a shelf or table.

Note: The AW speaker can be mounted vertically or horizontally,
but remember to always point the speaker in such a way as to allow water to
roll off the driver cone and/or low bass radiator.

Placement: Position the AW series loudspeaker as close as possible to
the area where you will be listening to it. Pointing
the active driver baffle towards the listener while the low-bass radiator side
faces the wall or ground gives you the ideal balance of clear mids, extended
highs, and low-end bass even in the tough acoustic conditions of the outdoors.
The AW speaker has a very wide dispersion pattern; however, if you are
trying to cover a very large area, you will be better off using multiple pairs
of AW speakers in order to achieve an even distribution of sound. With multiple
pairs you will avoid having areas where the sound is tool loud and others where
the sound is not loud enough. One pair of AW series loudspeakers will cover
approximately 200-400 square feet of listening area at moderately loud levels.
Try to point the speaker directly at the listening area.

Our Product Research Team

At Crutchfield, you'll get detailed, accurate information that's hard to
find elsewhere. That's because we have our own in-house Product Research
team. They verify what’s in the box, check the owner's manual, and record
dimensions, features and specs. We stay on top of new products and technologies
to help people make informed choices.

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Great Sound

Great sound. These speakers are mounted underneath my soffit on my deck. They don't have a wide dispersion so I can turn them up loud and not disturb the neighbors. I use them with zone 2 on my Yamaha rx a830 receiver.

Pros:Easy to mount
Sound great base gets better after these speakers are broken in.

if you're looking for bass, these are not for you

I originally ordered the 5500's but was not happy with the bass response. I thought it was the scrawny wire I was using but when I hooked them up to 16awg wire it did not improve. I have to admit however the midrange and high clarity was amazing. I then ordered the Polk Atrium 7's and was more impressed with their full sound so I am sticking with them. Overall, not completely impressed with either of them (I'm used to 500w Mackie for outdoor fun) but my advice is if you're looking for full sound out of your outdoor speakers I would go with a 6.5 or larger driver.

Pros:Clarity is unmatched. Construction is stout. Connectors and adjustors are better than Polk.

Cons:The bass radiator is not a speaker. This speaker lacks bass response.

Great quality speakers

Beautifully designed all weather speakers with a full range of sound quality. Works great for an outdoor pool area.

Pros:Great highs and lows (40hz!) very loud for a small speaker with excellent quality.

Cons:Had to mount them with bass side down (as opposed to vertical with bass on left or right.) to avoid a very sectional sound. Would have been fine verticle if I ordered two more but who wants to do that.

Definitive Technology AW 550 - WOW!!

These speakers are great!! They have excellent bass for speaker their size with exceptional detail on the highs as well. If you are looking for a great sounding outdoor speaker these are great and provide more than ample sound. I was afraid I would need to step up to the next level, but that was a fleeting thought after I hooked them up. They are hooked up to basic Sony stereo receiver with a Sony CD player just for patio and backyard use. They sounded great right out of the box and should only get better after the break in period. If you want great quality outdoor sound at a great price I am not sure you can beat these speakers! Wow!! They don't sound like outdoor speakers at all, very clear with excellent lows and highs! You can't go wrong with these in my opinion. I am VERY PLEASED with their performance!!

Pros:Great sound - Highs and lows - You hear details you don't hear on lesser indoor speakers on this quality set of outdoor speakers!

Great Performance for the $$$

Written By Tom, Denver, CO on Thursday, May 08, 2014

I bought a pair of the AW5500s to mount over my back deck and they sound great. I am driving them with a Yamaha R-S500 stereo receiver and I can't detect any distortion even at high volumes (haven't truly cranked them because my neighbors would hate me).

The bass is much better than other outdoor speakers I've heard in the past. Being rear-facing woofers, they use the wall they are mounted on to aid in the bass quality. For best results, the manual says to install them under and eave so you have two solid surfaces for the bass waves to bounce off of. I could hear decent bass from 0-15ft but then it kind of fell off after that. This is no surprise though being outdoors where acoustics are pretty terrible in general.

If you have the space, consider the AW6500s because they are only cost a little more per speaker and the bass response looks to be better. The AW5500s are already big outdoor speakers themselves, so I think the 6500s might be too big for my eave overhangs.

Excellent outdoor speakers

Just installed these about 2 weeks ago, so can't say anything about durability/longevity yet, but so far, so good. They sound great; they aren't going to challenge the reference speakers in your main system, but the highs are reasonably clear and open, and the midrange and bass are surpisingly satisfying for such a small speaker - I think the passive radiators help with that, especially if you reinforce the bass with some walls/corners. They feel very solid with quality materials and were very easy to install, and super flexible in terms of installation/placement/positioning options (e.g., they can be mounted vertically and angled in/out or mounted horizontally and angled up/down). My only wish is that both angling options were available in either orientation (e.g., that I could mount them vertically and angle them both inward AND downward), but that would require a more complex mounting system, and that's a but much to ask of an outdoor speaker at this price point. Overall, I'm very satisfied; I would buy these again and would recommend them without hesitation.

Pros:- Sound great for small outdoor speakers
- Active midrange/bass driver + passive radiator produces satisfying bass
- Higher maximum power handling than many other outdoor speakers in/near their price class
- They make grilling and hanging out on the deck just that much more enjoyable

AW5500 Great Sound

We have wanted new speakers on our front deck for some time. I haven't bought speakers for some time and was unsure of the sound quality of a sealed outdoor speaker. My family and neighbors love the sound. The AW5500s sound awesome, two of these on zone 2 of our Onkyo TXSR 875 readily fill this area with great sound. Easily the best small outdoor speaker I have heard!

High quality outdoor speakers

i recently purchased two pairs of AW 5500. They sound excellent, as advertised. My comparison outdoor speakers are Bose 151's and Boston Acoustics Soundwave compact outdoor speakers. The sound quality, tone and range is much better than both the Bose and BA. I'm pleased with them.

Definitive Technology Outdoor Speakers AW5500

I decided to get these speakers since I have this brand for my home theater setup(Pro Cinema 600- huge Bang for your Buck). Was originally going to power these via my Denon AVR2809CI...but the process of wiring was quite detailed considering where I was going to mount them. Fortunately, my backyard entertaining area allowed me to put these on my garage. So I wound up buying a 2 channel SONY A/V receiver/Amp - 75watts/Ch. I was a little hesitant to use an inferior amp as far as Quality/Power, but once I got these speakers going I was more than happy. I mounted them horizontally, about 16 inches below the garage soffit with the bass radiator facing up...can definatley hear bass along with treble and mids. There is a break in period for these or any speaker...so if they are going to sound better with time...I will be even more pleased than I am now.

Definitive Technology AW 5500

Written By Java_Joe, Downingtown, Pa on Sunday, July 14, 2013

VERY NICE Speakers!!! I am soooooo pleased with my selection of these for my outside deck. I'm running them off Zone 2 of my Denon 2312CI system and they sound great! The tweeter and midrange are crystal clear and I hear instruments playing in the music I haven't heard in my other speakers. I have them installed under the eaves of the second floor and quite close to the house. They are separated appx. 11 feet horizontally and are located appx. 4 feet above seated position. They are pointed to a focal point appx. 10 feet onto the deck. I've adjusted the bass a little from the receiver as I believe my speaker placement hurt the base a little. But I'm very happy after he adjustment. Installation was easy but customized. The speaker brackets have the installation holes for mounting 10 inches apart and my joists under the eaves are 16 inches on center. Since the speakers are somewhat heavy, I felt uncomfortable hanging the speakers from the vinyl covering the underside of the eaves. So, I screwed the bracket to a 1 inch by 2 inch and 10 1/2 inch piece of wood and screwed the center of the wood up into a joist. This way I have sufficient support for each speaker. Again, very nice speakers.

Definitive Technology AW 5500

I mounted these on my screened in porch about a foot under the ceiling on the wall with the right one about 3 ft from the corner of the adjacent solid wall and the left one about 6 feet from the open screened wall. They are running off Zone 2 of my Denon 3212. I have them EQ'ed slightly to bump treble and bass just enough to remove the mid honk. I haven't broken them in yet, only about 10 hours of moderate volume play so far, but really I am impressed with the sound stage they create! I was thinking I may still need a Sub at some point, which I may as I tend to be a bass head, but for a smaller set of speakers that got full spouse approval (after I painted them to match the house and the 6500's were just a little too large to be acceptable) they sound awesome! Diverse range of music testing so far from Gary Willis' solo bass to JT to No Doubt to Dethklok and it all works well and with good detail and really good low end. Having them so close to the ceiling with the passive radiator just about a foot away and almost perfectly parallel to the ceiling surface helps a lot I'm sure!. I'm not sure they would do so well out in the open without the coverage to help amplify the low end. It'll be interesting to see how they do when I've got them broken in. I think the 6500's would sound better, however, for the price and the fact that the size is not overly distracting and got full spouse approval makes these solid winners!

Excellent

These sound absolutely awesome. I upgraded from mid range pair of yamahas. Theyre under the roof in my covered porch, connected to my HTPC. I have around 10 hours on them, and they really do sound very nice. Best sound I've ever heard in an outdoor speaker. Excellent base and crisp highs. I explained to Daisy that I wanted full sound, at low to moderate volume levels, and she recommended these. I have turned them up to test drive, and they sound great at high volume. For my purposes though, listening at low volumes, they also sound great. Nice deep base with very low volume. I'm very pleased.

Pros:Just sound great.

Cons:Had to drill some holes in the mounting bracket for my application to mount horizontally on a vertical stud. Not really a big deal though.

Awesome Outdoor Sound!

We finally decided to use our lanai for something other than drying the step-son's sweaty workout clothes. The bugs in FL are an issue so we're having it screened in. We selected these speakers at the recommendation of Budddy, a Crutchfield advisor. We have a busy, four-lane road adjacent to our back yard so there is a lot of competing noise. The Def Tech AW-5500 speakers put out plenty of clear highs and mids with strong bass to help mask the traffic noise.

The speakers are mounted on a support beam about 9' above the seating area and 1' below the ceiling. This gives the bass something to reverberate off of. I connected the speakers to our Yamaha home theater receiver on the B channel. I wired in a Russound WALTX-2 volume controller and installed it behind my place on the love seat. The volume control allows me to adjust the music for traffic and wind conditions.

I give these speakers a strong five-star rating. I'm normally a Klipsch person, but these Def Techs probably put out more bass than the comparable Klipsch. I'm extremely happy with the full sound of these speakers and highly recommend them!

Solid Speaker

Written By Mark, Virginia on Sunday, September 30, 2012

Bought these speakers to enjoy music on the back deck, pool area, and near the home outside and I am very pleased with them. Great sound, bass, highs, these speakers do it all. Opted to go with these rather then the 6500s and do not regret it. They produce plenty of sound.

Happy Ears!

I bought these Definitive Technology AW 5500 speakers about 3 months ago while my house was being remodeled. I had plenty of time to perform the suggested 30-40 hour break-in period at moderate volume levels by hooking them up to the surround sound system at my temporary quarters. I recently moved back into my newly remodeled house and installed the AW5500s on the covered porch ceiling and close to the wall. They sound awesome! It is not very often that my expectations of a product are exceeded by the products performance.

Pros:Easy to install, Sound great and look great.

Cons:30-40 hour preak-in period before you can really crank them and hear the true quality.

AW5500 Outdoor Speakers

I selected the Defenitive Technology outdoor speakers becuause I trust them. I have my surround sound system from Defenitive Technology in my town house in Florida and they sound fantastic. These speakers are well built which will be able to withstand the New England weather.. The specifications are right there 40hz to 20Khz and a signal to noise of 91. You wound be dissapointed with these speakers.

Finishing touch for a new patio

I was a bit leery of ordering something without being able to hear it first, but I knew a little about Definitive and with Crutchfield's return policy, I figured it was worth the risk. Installed them on a screened porch, totally protected from the weather and close to the wall and roof to maximize bass response. I've only had them up and running for a couple of days, but so far, I love them. Easy to listen to with just about any kind of music...not harsh, but they do provide a good detailed sound and crisp bass for their size. Installation was very easy as well. These will not be returned!

Nice speakers, easy installation

I just received these speakers late yesterday afternoon and also got them installed on our back patio. First let me say that the installation was a breeze! I have Hardieplank exterior walls (a cement type product) which require masonary type screws. Total cost from Home Depot for the masonary bit and the 3/16" x 1' 3/4' screws needed was about 7.00. I marked the location for the screws using the provided speaker bracket, drilled the holes, screwed the screws in about 3/4 the way, slid the bracket onto the screws, and tightened the screws. Both speaker brackets were installed in less than ten minutes!

As far as the sound quality overall, they are very warm sounding. There is quite a bit of bass output. I turned them up using the 140 watt per channel amp I am using to drive them and they sounded good. However, these will require a breaking in period (per DefTech's manual) before these will really shine. After three hours of continuous use I could already tell a difference in the sound than right out of the box. I am confident my review will change to a full five stars after the break-in period is complete. Great speakers at a great price equals a happy customer.

Pros:Very easy instalation, good sound quality after a break-in period

Great Speakers

After a long search for outdoors speakers I found these as the best in the market. I installed a pair in my outdoor kitchen and they sound awesome. I also bought 2 rock speakers to install close to my outdoor fireplace. But honestly, I would not need them since the quality of sound delivered by these speakers would cover that area too. The only reason I kept the rock speakers is because I added them as "zone 2" in my receiver. So I can listen different channels in the kitched and fireplace or even music at fireplace and game in the kitchen. Since these speakers are connect to my TV. I strong recommend these speakers. But please, don't save money on wiring cables. Make sure to use properly cables. HDMI

Great Sound!

Great Speakers for the money. I have two of these on my screened in back deck, and they sound great. There is moderate bass and crystal clear sound, even at the louder volumes. The outside volume controller (seperate purchase) is awesome and well worth the $100. I would buy these again, and after lots of research, I think I got the best speakers for the money.

Great outdoor speakers on a moderate budget

Great speakers, easy to mount even in akward locations, feel sturdy, sound very good. Only negative for me is the 3 inch yellow sticker that comes attached to the grill telling users to point the speaker face with the driver and tweeter toward the listening area - the sticker is right on the grill and impossible to remove entirely, so a good looking speaker ends up tainted with sticky white backing.

Definitive Technology AW5500

Fantastic speakers. Wired them up under my lanai roof against the wall and the results were exactly what I was trying to achieve. Highs are bright and detailed without the harsh brittle sound, while the low end is well rounded and full. Maybe try and get at least one of them mounted in a corner if possible to accentuate the lows. Getting lows out of small drivers, especially outdoors can be a challenge. Bass frequencies are non-directional so having one of my speakers in a corner gives good overall spectrum. I love them.

Great Outdoor Sound

Written By Chad, Minneapolis, MN on Friday, July 23, 2010

Just hooked these up last week, so they still aren't fully broken in yet, but they sound great already. They produce good bass for an outdoor setting. We had 75 mph winds the day after I put them up so I can say with confidence that the brackets and speaker enclosures hold up to the elements.